ASSIGNMENT : GODREJ SECURITY SOLUTIONS LTD.

: MOVING CONSUMERS
TO ACTION

What was GSS’ primary marketing challenge? Which consumer needs did the company’s
products address?
GSS’s primary challenge lied in the Home segment, where Indian customers were reluctant
to embrace home security. Although most of them believed that home security solution was
important, very few had invested in one. Therefore, the challenge was “to provoke people to
take security seriously – leading to proactive action.” There was a need to upgrade to better
technology and the challenge lied in changing some deeply entrenched social beliefs.
GSS primarily seek to address the needs of the security solutions in banks, using state-
of-the-art technologies. In home market, it targeted urban home segment, providing
modern, intelligent security solutions to their homes. Increasing Security risks, rise in
Nuclear families, growing economy, increasing crime rates, have resulted in increase in
demand of security solutions for households.

2. Who were the early adopters? What were the barriers to adoption?
Some of the early adopters were as follows-
 Godrej’s – Brand positioning and credibility.
 Awareness brought by the initial campaign in the target segment
 The middle class and working couples who leave the house unattended
 People had a change in the attitude towards the security systems and an underlying
sense of fear and helplessness made the adoption to GSS products easier.
However, the barriers to adoption were as follows:
 Security was treated as more of a Reactive step than a proactive measure.
 “Things Wouldn’t Happen to me “was the general belief of the customers
 Security wasn’t the top of the to do list in the Home Segment
 Existing Security measures like Peek holes, Security Guards where considered
adequate .
 Investing on the security systems was considered as least priority – Customer
attitude
External Security measures like Gates, safety doors, avoiding interactions with the strangers
where considered as the best practices that acted as the barriers to adoption.

3. Analyse the company’s first campaign (“Trouble doesn’t come announced”).

Godrej Security Solutions catered to two target markets.
Institutional: Banks
 Cameras with analytics
 X Ray Baggage scanners
 Biometrics and access control systems
 Burglary and fire-resistant safes
 Marine solutions
Home:
 Home Safes
  Video door phone
 Burglar Alarm Systems
Godrej targeted the Urban Home market in India. Families with annual incomes above $6667
were the potential buyers. Nuclear families with working husband and wife. 75% Indians
were anxious or nervous regarding security

4. As a brand, what did GSS communicate through its second campaign?

In GSS’s second campaign, the focus shifted from thieves to homeowners. The theme was
“Fearless in the face of challenge” The new campaign’s idea was “Now you don’t have to
fear trouble”. They aimed to demonstrate the brand’s ability to protect and empower the
consumer with the control over the situation. They wanted to create awareness of the
proposition of “complete control and confidence” and print and point of sales promotion to
highlight peace of mind and control.

5. What challenges do you see in continuing the “fear and control” story in
2013/14?
Fear based campaign makes the people become helpless despite control and confidence
campaign. People may get negative perception and apprehension about the brand by seeing
repeated fear-based persuasion. In continuing the fear and control campaign, people who
haven’t been affected by burglary, will believe that they will not be affected in future and
might not bother to buy (Denial of Threat). It is not capable of reducing the several barriers
and repeated advertising with fear can create a threat in the people’s mind, if the
vulnerability and the severity increases.